Cast-iron roofing



`been used for the-covering of the roofs of Aupper ends a similar ledge that turns up- WILLIAM BEACH, OFy PENNSYLVANIA.

cAs'rfInoN ROOFING.

Specicatio of Letters Patent No. 2,585, dated April 23, 1842.

To all whom it may concern.' A

Be it knownthat I, WILLIAM BEACH, Of the city Of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have made 'an Improvement in the Manner of Forming and Combining Plates of Cast- Iron for Covering the Roofs of Buildings; and I do hereby declare the following is a full and exact description thereof. A

I am aware that plates Of-cast-iron have buildings, and I do not claim, therefore, to be the first to have employed this material for that purpose; but I limit my claim to certain improvements thereon, by which such covering is rendered more secure and effective than heretofore. y

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1, represents a number 4of plates Of cast-iron combined together so as to' form a part Of the covering of a roof. Fig. 2, is a section through these plates, cut-ting them laterally,- or in the direction of their width; and Fig. 3, a section cutting them lengthwise, or in the direction from the ridge of the roof to the eaves. I form flutes, or hollows, from the top to the bottom-of each Of these plates, as shown in the drawing, for the purpose Of preventing the water which may run down them from being driven by the wind to one side, and being thereby caused to flow over the. lateral edges, which it has been found to do when t-he plates were .madey smooth upon the surface. To cause the plates to be as light as possible, their lindersides are reeded to correspond with the flut ing on their `upper surface. On one edge of each Of the plates I raise a ledge, as shown at a, an, say tothe height Of an inch, more or less. `On the opposite side I form a hollow bead, b, b, which is to receive and embrace the ledge a, a, of a contiguous plate; at its lower end, as at b', this hollow bead is enlarged so as to receive, and overlap, the upper end of the bead Of the ,plate immediately -below it. At the lower edge of each platesI form a ledge which turns downward, as shown at c, c, c, `and at their ward, as at d, d, d.' To attach these plates to the plank of the roof I use a single screw, l

ons plates, laterally,

Or nail, which passes .through a hole in a protuberance e, e, made in each plate for that purpose. This protuberance Irises to a suficient height to prevent the Overflow of water; and the plates being each thus fastened at a single point are left free to expand and contractin all directions, unobstructedly. For the ridge of the roof similar plates may be cast, but descending On each side; and. at*` the sides where the. roof terminates, plates are to be used adapted thereto; that is to say, without the provision for connecting them with a contiguous row. By the above described arrangement, the surfaces of the respective plates in each row, laterally, will be all in the same plane, and the whole will be compactly and securely bound together. The plates may vary in size,but I prefer them o f about twelve by eighteen inches, as they may then be cast so as not tO be more than an eighth of an inch, or thereabout, in thickness; while if they'are of a larger size their thickness will have to be increased.

Having thus fully described the nature of my improvements in the formation of a covering of cast-iron for the roofs of buildings, what I claim therein asl new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination of plates whose surfaces are iiuted, in the manner set forth, in combination with the particular manner` of joining them at their sides, o r edges, by the hollow bead, and the respective ledges, formed as set forth; the whole being so arranged as that the surface Of each plate will be on the same planel with its contigui and also, as making a part of the same combination, the manner of fastening the respective 'plates by means of a single nail or screw, passing through a hole in a protuberance made thereon, in themanner and for forth. And I do herebydeclare that I do not claim these devices Otherwise than as they each make a part vof this combination.

'.ILLIAM BEACH. Witnesses:

JOHN THOMPSON,

CHARLES H. MELLOE. i

the purpose herein setV l 

